Decolonising Research in Transport Geography

CALL FOR PAPERS

Decolonising Research in Transport Geography

Journal: Journal of Transport Geography

Publisher: Elsevier

Submission Deadline: 30 September 2026

Introduction

Transport geography is often dominated by Global North narratives — frequently applying established paradigms uncritically to diverse global contexts, particularly the Global South. This risks obscuring unique transport processes and their distinct local causes, implications, and responses.

While foundational work has initiated crucial discussions on decolonising transport research by highlighting power imbalances and knowledge hegemonies, the past five years have witnessed intensified debates and theoretical advancements — necessitating a deepened and broadened engagement.

This Special Issue offers an urgent and novel platform to advance decolonisation by fostering genuine knowledge pluralism. It challenges prevailing frameworks that inadvertently universalise not only which issues are deemed important, but also how they are conceptualised and addressed.

Scope & Significance

This Special Issue advocates for methodological innovation and direct engagement with alternative epistemologies — moving beyond problem identification to proactive engagement. A key focus is on integrating indigenous and local knowledges into transport and infrastructure planning — promoting bottom-up approaches that truly reflect global complexity.

The Special Issue places significant emphasis on the rapidly evolving urbanisation patterns and socio-economic transformations prevalent in the Global South — addressing contemporary challenges such as:

• The dual nature of informal transport systems — including women's safety and congestion

• The complex implications of emerging future transport systems — including autonomous vehicles and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) — in potentially exacerbating inequalities

This collection fundamentally rethinks disciplinary tools and assumptions — critically reconsidering existing transport models and priorities from a decolonial lens to foster a more inclusive, equitable, and context-specific understanding of transport futures.

The editors particularly encourage papers that interrogate power relations in transport knowledge production, centre indigenous and local knowledges, and explore innovative decolonial narratives.

List of Topic Areas

Manuscripts are invited on themes including, but not limited to:

1. Socioeconomic roles and spatial dynamics of context-specific formal and informal transport in the Global South

2. Emerging future transport systems and their societal implications in the Global South

3. Social and environmental implications of informal and active transport modes in developing regions

4. Governance and policy challenges in regulating and integrating diverse mobility systems

5. Assessing marginalised communities' mobility needs in Global South contexts

6. Indigenous and local knowledge contributions to sustainable urban transport and infrastructure planning

7. Critiques of transport models and priorities — reconsidering paradigms in emerging economies

8. Methodological innovations for decolonial transport research — participatory and context-sensitive approaches

9. Power relations in transport knowledge production and knowledge hegemony

10. Women's safety, gender, and mobility in informal transport systems

11. Autonomous vehicles and MaaS — equity and justice implications in the Global South

12. Alternative epistemologies and diverse conceptualisations of transport and mobility

13. Postcolonial and decolonial theoretical frameworks applied to transport geography

14. Urban informality and transport in rapidly urbanising cities of the Global South

15. Knowledge pluralism — bridging local, indigenous, and Western transport research traditions

Guest Editors

Dr. Qiyang Liu School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University, Shenzhen, China

Dr. Zihao An University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

Dr. Rafael H. M. Pereira Institute of Applied Economic Research, Brasilia, Brazil

Dr. Zahara Batool Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

Prof. Tim Schwanen University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

Key Deadlines

Manuscript Submission Deadline: 30 September 2026

Submission Guidelines

Papers must be submitted electronically via the Journal of Transport Geography (JTRG) online submission system. Each author must follow the journal's Guide for Authors available at:

https://www.elsevier.com/journals/journal-of-transport-geography/0966-6923/guide-for-authors

When submitting, select Article Type:

"VSI: Decolonising transport"

to ensure your manuscript is correctly identified for inclusion in the Special Issue.

All submissions must be original and must not be under review elsewhere at the time of submission.

About the Journal

The Journal of Transport Geography, published by Elsevier, is a leading international peer-reviewed journal with a CiteScore of 11.2 and Impact Factor of 6.3. It supports open access publishing and is dedicated to advancing research on the geography of transport — providing a global platform for interdisciplinary scholarship exploring mobility, accessibility, transport systems, and the spatial, social, and environmental dimensions of how people and goods move within and across places worldwide.

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